Eight new members have strengthened the AquaVentus team since the beginning of February – including an offshore pioneer and a hydrogen newcomer.
- The Green Hydrogen Initiative now includes 40 internationally leading companies, organizations and research institutions – and the trend is rising.
- The visionary goal is to be implemented with combined expert knowledge: one million tons of green hydrogen per year, generated from offshore wind energy, transported to land via a pipeline.
Helgoland / Berlin –The know-how along the entire hydrogen value chain continues to grow strongly at AquaVentus. It wasn’t until January that five new partners joined. Since then, eight other companies have joined the initiative. The now 40-member consortium has set itself the goal of installing ten gigawatts of electrolysis power from offshore wind energy in the North Sea by 2035. With the offshore wind power, green hydrogen is to be generated on the high seas and then brought to land via a pipeline. The new members combine many years of expertise in the core area of hydrogen, in the fields of economic development, offshore energy generation, pipeline maintenance as well as port logistics and transport.
Strong H2 competence and economic development
In the area of hydrogen generation, transport, storage and distribution, the AquaVentus team will in future be supported by the traditional company and H2 pioneer Linde. The company with its German headquarters in the Munich area is one of the world’s largest gas producers and operates an H2 pipeline network around 1,000 kilometers long. Linde is leading the transition to green hydrogen and has one of the most modern electrolysis technologies in its joint venture ITM Linde Electrolysis GmbH.
Industry newcomer Hynamics also promises strong hydrogen competence. The subsidiary of the French energy supplier EDF, which was founded in 2019 as part of the “West Coast 100” H2 real-world laboratory, focuses entirely on projects for green hydrogen in Germany. The company would also like to contribute its expertise in electrolyser operation to AquaVentus.
The development company Brunsbüttel (egeb) has set itself the goal of advancing the region around the northern mouth of the Elbe. It promotes entrepreneurial commitment in the districts of Dithmarschen and Steinburg through advice and mediation as well as funding and has many years of experience in the location management of Schleswig-Holstein’s largest industrial area – the ChemCoast Park Brunsbüttel.
Reinforcement in the field of offshore wind energy and plant safety
With the energy company EnBW and the globally operating technology company ROSEN, an experienced offshore park developer and operator and a long-term integrity partner of operators of various industrial plants are joining.
EnBW has been developing, building and operating offshore wind farms in the Baltic and North Sea for 10 years. The company plans to significantly expand renewable energies and is particularly focusing on offshore wind energy. EnBW wants to be climate neutral by 2035.
With its decades of know-how in the field of inspection, protection and integrity management of pipelines, tanks, platforms and wind turbines, as well as its accession to the AquaVentus initiative, the ROSEN Group will also contribute to the decarbonization of industry and long-term climate neutrality.
Kick-off for the transport, distribution and purchase of green hydrogen
Also new on board are the professionals from Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), the port service providers and operators around the North and Baltic Seas of Brunsbüttel Ports GmbH and the joint stock company EMS as a maritime service provider Headquarters in Emden. All three companies rely on innovative technologies and sustainable solutions in their areas.
As a “first mover”, the EMS AG relied on liquid gas (LNG) powered ferries in Germany and is open to alternative drives.
As a port service provider, Brunsbüttel Ports GmbH operates a large logistics hub for supply and disposal for chemical, industrial and energy companies in the Hamburg metropolitan region at its home location at the mouth of the Elbe.
HHLA is also committed to sustainability and climate protection. HHLA is a leading European logistics company and, in addition to handling facilities in Hamburg, Trieste, Tallinn and Odessa, operates a large intermodal network in Europe and connects European ports with their hinterland in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. This makes HHLA an important partner with regard to the planning and implementation of the logistics chain and contributes its expertise in the areas of transport and distribution as well as the use of hydrogen.
In the starting blocks for the vision
“We are very pleased that more and more companies are strengthening our initiative with their know-how. We have competent partners who work with us to make the goal of producing one million tons of green hydrogen on the open sea a reality. We are in the starting blocks for this and hope that politicians will now set the right framework conditions, ”says Jörg Singer, Chairman of the AquaVentus Förderverein and Mayor of Helgoland.
About AquaVentus
The project family around the AquaVentus Initiative comprises numerous sub-projects along the value chain from the production of hydrogen in the North Sea to transport to customers on the mainland. These coordinated consortia synchronize demand and generation and thus enable a rapid market ramp-up. The AquaVentus project family includes, for example: the development of offshore wind energy plants with integrated hydrogen generation (AquaPrimus), a large-scale offshore hydrogen park (AquaSector), a central supply pipeline (AquaDuctus), port infrastructures (AquaPortus), a research platform (AquaCampus) ) as well as maritime hydrogen-based applications (AquaNavis).
You can find all further information at: http://www.aquaventus.org
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